The Board found that the Veteran does not have a current hearing loss disability or chronic thoracolumbar spine disability for VA purposes, and thus denied service connection for these conditions. The Board also determined there was insufficient evidence to link any current back condition to service.
The deciding factor: Competent medical evidence did not support the Veteran's claims of current disabilities related to his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic bilateral ear disability (including hearing loss), chronic thoracolumbar spine disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 25, 2016
- Citation
- 1633717
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 1633717.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the nature and etiology of the Veteran's chronic thoracolumbar spine disability, which is believed to be related to an in-service motor vehicle accident.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for chronic sinusitis with allergic rhinitis, a chronic thoracolumbar spine disability, and a chronic cervical spine disability. The Veteran's symptoms began during his active service and have persisted since.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings were denied, while her TDIU and SMC on the basis of statutory housebound status were granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for additional development due to the need for retrospective medical opinions regarding the Veteran's back and neck disabilities. The SMC claim is also remanded as it depends on the development of the spine disability issues.
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